The road ahead...

It's been a hectic start to the year!  I'm trying to tie up loose ends and prepare for the year ahead, before I plough headlong into a very big, exciting new project.  Given the timeframe, I won't have time for much else once it's underway.

Hot on the heels of completing the aforementioned project, I have Stitches and Craft Shows to attend (with stock and a display - perhaps the odd workshop or seminar? - to prepare). 

Then there's a trip to Sewjourn (YIPPPPPPEEEEEE!) and the Sew it Together bloggers convention in Melbourne.  I'll be hosting a Friday Night champagne-swilling-shindig thing. (We could call it a cocktail-hour soiree... but that sounds a bit fancy.  I'm thinking of a more cosy, doesn't-matter-what-you-wear kind of get-together where we can talk about buttons, ironing board covers and fabric shops).  More details later.

I'm also harbouring secret wishes to visit a show further afield later in the year. Fingers crossed.

In between I'll be doing family things.  Trying to get out to spend time with my parents when I can.  Spending quality time with my wee girl.   (Gosh, I may even have time to have a conversation with the man of the house....!?).  Dealing with grief - and the frazzled emotions of myself and my siblings - as we face the toughest of journeys.

My little assistant is off to kindergarten (with aftercare) this year so I have quite-possibly-unrealistic expectations about how much can be achieved without her "help" in the studio.  When I think about how much was done while working around her these last four years, I feel like I can achieve anything. 

There are still a few other wild-card events that may spring up and change circumstances again.  Perhaps the odd spanner in the works... that's to be expected, too.

So far, I can't see the space to schedule classes or workshops until the latter half of the year.  Stay tuned to the blog and join the mailing list (making sure you add info@nicolemdesign.com.au to your "allowed" list in your spam filter or address book!!).  I'll let you know as soon as I know anything. 

The photo above is of me - aged 4 - and my brother aged 3.  That's my Dad underneath the family VW Combi. (He spent a lot of time there). We're somewhere on the road to (or in?) the Queensland outback.  On that particular journey, the Combi had to be push-started EVERY TIME it stopped - from the Victoria-NSW border to the Gulf of Carpentaria .... and back.  We persisted.  We got there.  And we got home.  Mum, Dad and seven kids.  I survived a broken leg and we all survivied a treacherous mountain drive on a dark and stormy night with a broken windscreen (and a child in the back with a broken leg).

I don't expect this year to be smooth sailing, but I feel that it'll be one of transformation in many ways.  I'm taking a big breath..... and getting ready to push.